Interview: Once and Future Pixies Frontman Frank Black

For the past 20 years, Frank Black has set a place for himself in rock Valhalla thanks to his beloved work with the Pixies and with a solo career that continues to defy predictability. Now, after a glamorous Pixies reuinion tour, Black is touring in support of his latest album Fastman Raiderman. Black is playing the Fillmore this Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Daily Californian: After spending most of your career with the Pixies or the Catholics, was the decision to start a new band a conscious attempt to move out of a comfort zone or did it happen naturally?

Frank Black: All these things happen naturally. One door opens, another door closes. You call people. They call you. It’s all very dull. It’s very logistical. The organizing of art is like shipping and receiving.

DC: One of the most common (and annoying) critical remarks toward double albums is that they could usually be cut down to one disc. I’d like to think most artists have a reason for making a longer album. Why did Fastman Raiderman take this shape, and when did you know it would happen?

FB: It was a traditional length album. I recorded a few more songs, one of them in particular, “In the Time of My Ruin,” that I really liked. When that got put on, it opened the door and all the rest of them came in the room. Then it was like, “ah, screw it, let’s put them all on.”

DC: Was that why you did more sessions in Los Angeles?

FB: Well, you multitask. You’ve got a reason to go to L.A. to sing on a TV show, so you’re like, “Well, I’m going to be in California for a few days, haven’t used the studio in a long time. Oh, and the producer is in town doing a session.” Like I said, it doesn’t always come from some ... “Ah! I have this artistic vision!” It’s more like, “I’m going to L.A., lets record some songs.” It’s great when you can go to different places, but it’s four walls and a ceiling—a bunch of tape recorders, a big warehouse with recording equipment in them, you know? It’s a space to do some work.

DC: So are you generally less enthusiastic about recording as opposed to playing live?

FB: No, I think I probably prefer the recording part, actually. I mean I like both. It’s 51 percent to 49 percent—I like it that much more.

DC: So is your method of quick two-track recording simply an aesthetic choice then?

FB: Yeah, you know. Do it old school—do it live.

DC: Thom Yorke said in an interview with SPIN that he lost sleep over Radiohead going onstage after the Pixies at Coachella 2004, comparing it to going onstage after the Beatles. P.F. Sloan told the LA Times that recording with you was the greatest day of his life since 1965. How comfortable are you with this kind of legacy, and does it ever feel like an albatross?

FB: No, I’ll take all the publicity I can get, thank you very much. I’m not quite as big as Elvis yet, so it’s great when people say nice things about you. Thank you Thom Yorke, thank you Phil Sloan.

DC: During the last couple of years you’ve been balancing between the Pixies and your solo career and there’s been a really interesting dynamic there. On one hand you’re supporting new songs that I’m assuming are more immediate to you, but you’re also playing Pixies songs, some of which you wrote as early as your teenage years. Is it hard to go into both of these mindsets?

FB: No, you know. Songs are silly. There’s no harm in playing them. It kind of keeps you humble if you have some songs that don’t seem like your favorite thing in the world anymore. I don’t know that I worry about it so much.

DC: I saw you on “Vinyl Justice” where some British men dressed as police officers enter your home and raid your record collection. For Iggy Pop albums, do you prefer Lust for Life or The Idiot?

FB: Lust for Life.

DC: Oh, ok. I’m more of an Idiot fan.

FB: I know someone and we have the same debate. Again, it’s a 51 percent to 49 percent kind of thing.

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